Giving it all up
by halolikeanangel
Summary: Harry has always tried so hard to please everyone around him, even willing to sacrifice his life for them. So when he has to choose between love or marriage, he's willing to give it all up, for the greater good. HPDM. ONESHOT.


He stood against the door he had just snuck through, silently observing the man before him. He was tall, and broad shouldered and by all rights could have been a prince, but there was something awkward in the way he carried himself, a reminder of gangly teenage years. His dark hair was artfully messy, although all those who knew him would know that the only difference between this and his normal style was a small drop of gel keeping it in place. Surprisingly, his dress robes were immaculate today, something rarely ever seen on this man. He was an auror, and so full of energy that his clothes and hair could never manage to keep still either, usually making for a very dishevelled look. Yet he was often described as handsome, and he was always fighting women away from him, although that might have to do with his defeating the Dark Lord, power like that was such an aphrodisiac.

"You look good" the man against the door finally pulled himself from his silent musings and addressed the dark haired man who was busy smoothing out his robes nervously.

"What are you doing here Draco?" he lifted his green eyes slowly and met silver in the mirror.

Draco pushed himself away from the door and sauntered over to the immaculately put together man who still hadn't moved from the mirror.

"Don't do it Harry" he whispered as he came up behind him, looking at their reflection. It was a startling contrast really, his platinum blond hair, which he refused to grow long as was tradition for a pureblood heir, against Harry's tousled raven locks. His piercing silver eyes and Harry's warm green. His slender build and Harry's broad shoulders, perhaps a testimony to the kinds of work they engaged in. It was like night and day really.

"Draco... you know I have to do this. It makes sense. Everyone will be happier in the end"

Harry seemed... resigned to his fate. There really wasn't any other word to describe the look in his eyes, the slope of his shoulders, this was a man who knew what he had to do and would do it... regardless of what he really wanted. _The Greater Good_, everyone had been telling him all his life, it was his duty as their saviour, the boy-who-lived; everything he did was for the greater good, even after defeating the Dark Lord. Even the small things, private things, it was all out there for the public to see and so it WAS their business and it DID affect them and he had to do what they needed.

Draco hated seeing him this way. The energy gone from his eyes, on this day he was supposed to be happy, instead he looked dead. They had taken his soul and though Draco had fought to keep it, in the end he had lost and Harry was gone. Physically, he stood there, tall, strong and handsome, but his heart had been locked away somewhere deep inside. Draco used to be the key to that lock, and often it seemed as though he was the only one who was able to bring it back out, show Harry who he used to be. But inevitably, it was always locked back away again until one day it seemed Harry had just changed the lock so that no one could access it ever again.

Draco was angry now. He hated thinking about what the press did to Harry, what the public put him through, the hoops his supposed FAMILY made him jump through. It wasn't supposed to be like this, he should have been able to live his own life after the final battle, he should have been able to do the things he wanted, LOVE who he wanted. But they took that away too, and Harry, being the pleasing soul that he was, he did it all. He killed the bad guy because they needed it; he became an auror because they wanted it. When he wanted to escape to America to get away from everything he'd gone through, they'd convinced him to stay. And when he fell in love with Draco... they took that away too.

"I love you Harry. WE make sense. Nobody can make you laugh like I can. Nobody can bring that spark to your life like I can." Draco was getting desperate; he needed to make Harry understand all that he was giving up.

"I know we fight a lot, but that's just us! We've always fought and that's what makes it exciting, because you know I would always tell you the truth, no matter how much it hurt" He grabbed Harry by the wrist and spun him around so they were face to face. He _needed_ to make Harry understand.

"I would rather spend my whole damn life fighting with you... then one more minute without you. Can't you understand that?" His silver eyes seared into Harry's, trying to help him see everything that he was and everything that he had to give.

"I love you too Dray..." Harry smiled up at him, despite everything he had still ended up just that little bit shorter than the platinum man before him. He reached up to stroke his face, tracing those lips, remembering every touch.

He looked past him to the door, his brow furrowed as he remembered what stood out there waiting for him. He stepped back out reach and straightened himself up to full height, trying to work up the courage to do what needed to be done.

"I love her more" Every word was like a knife through his own heart and he hoped Draco could believe him this time and be happy in the end.

"I love her, and I'm going to marry her today and we're going have children and I'll be happy. This is everything I ever wanted and something you can't give me" He thought he might collapse at the end but he had done far worse in his time and he could survive this too.

Draco was trembling, but whether from fury or pain neither could be sure. He had tried, he had sucked up his pride and put his heart on the line and gotten nowhere.

"Fuck you Harry. Fuck your stupid hero complex and your stupid bride. I hope she makes you happy, I really do and I hope she gives you all the fucking kids you can handle." Draco lashed out, sarcasm practically dripping from each word as he struggled not to hit him in the face.

He stepped closer to Harry, fury emanating from his body in waves.

"I love you Harry and NOBODY can love you like I do. Nobody is GOOD enough to love you, and one day you're going to wake up and know what you missed out on, but I WONT be there anymore. I will not wait around for you Harry, you walk down that aisle today and I will never come back."

Harry smiled sadly, and pushed past Draco to make his way to the door. He hesitated slightly before grasping the door knob and walking out.

* * *

"And do you Harry James Potter take Genevra Molly Weasley to be your wife..." The celebrant asked, coming to the conclusion of the ceremony. It had been beautiful really; they had decided to go with a traditional muggle ceremony followed by a wizarding bonding ceremony afterwards to honour both the wizard and muggle blood in Harry's family.

"I do" he whispered.

Draco watched from the back. Whilst everyone had thought the look on Harry's face as Ginny made her way down the aisle was perfect, Draco knew it was focused on him. That delicious mix of love and longing that no one could quite understand but the two of them. Those tears at the end, looking for all the world like an overwhelmed groom imagining his future with his wife, Draco knew they were tears of regret as he imagined a future without the man he loved. But he wouldn't go back on his threat, he would never come back. Draco would move on, marry some perfect pureblood princess and have a perfect son as expected, without a single soul knowing how close he came to giving all that up for love.

* * *

_The steam had thinned for a moment and three people stood in sharp relief against the shifting mist... Draco Malfoy was standing there with his wife and son, a dark coat buttoned up to his throat... the new boy resembled Draco as much as Albus resembled Harry. Draco caught sight of Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny staring at him, nodded curtly and turned away again._

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A/N: that last bit is taken from the Epilogue (as if you didn't know) so I don't own it


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